


Unfinished Business

by JennLaFleur



Category: EastEnders
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-03
Updated: 2012-09-03
Packaged: 2017-11-13 11:48:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/503204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennLaFleur/pseuds/JennLaFleur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Syed's on his way home to Christian. He's not paying attention...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Here is my first multi-chapter, set a few days after Syed announces his engagement to the family. Story completed 31/07/11.

"I can't believe you even managed to get away. Tanya could talk for Britain."

"In that case, you two would make a great tag team."

"Oi, cheeky."

Syed was on his way home after a night out with the girls from the salon. As much as he liked Tanya, having her, Jodie and the latest addition to the salon, Poppy, talk endlessly about nail polish colours was a little bit tedious. He'd made his excuses and was now walking down Bridge Street towards his new flat. Their new flat. It was late, and the market was deserted. He pressed his phone closer to his ear with a smirk.

"I'm kidding, of course. You'd probably be better in a team with Fatboy."

He heard Christian chuckle.

"Are you trying to wind me up?"

"Just a bit."

"Are you nearly home? I've missed you."

Syed couldn't keep from rolling his eyes at the sudden change of subject, glad of the fact that there appeared to be no one around. Admittedly, though, he loved hearing Christian refer to the flat as 'home'. They'd only been there a few weeks but after a repaint and some serious unpacking and hauling about of furniture, they'd made it their own. He still thought about the old flat, and it made him a little sad that they'd left it, but Christian was right. This was the start of a new chapter in their life together. They were going to marry; they were going to adopt. Announcing their engagement to his family didn't go down so well, to put it lightly; but he'd been expecting that. Maybe one day they'd come round to the idea. It took a while, but his mother seemed to accept the idea that they were adopting, thanks to whatever Christian had said to her a few weeks back. Surely she can see that two people in love wanting to marry is a good thing as well? In an ideal world, maybe. He smiled inwardly, despite himself.

"I'm literally five minutes away, you big girls blouse," Syed teased, pausing for a few seconds.

"But I missed you too, if it's any consolation."

"Oh, I'm honoured."

Syed grinned. So set was he on getting to their flat, getting home, he didn't sense the presence of the black BMW which had come to a stop a little distance behind him. However, the slam of the car door made Syed jump, and still on the phone to Christian, he started to turn around, suddenly anxious. It was late after all, and prior to the startling noise, he had thought he was alone on the street. Before he could catch sight of who was behind him, he felt a hand go over his mouth, and he stumbled backwards as whoever it was dragged him into the nearest alleyway, out of sight. Terrified, he let his mobile drop to the ground, the cover coming loose and the battery falling out.

"...Sy?"


	2. Chapter 2

Christian pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it, checking to see if there was still a connection. Nope, he'd been cut off. The last thing he'd heard was a sharp intake of breath, muffled movements and a loud bang. Suddenly he was extremely worried. It was dark, and Syed had been on the phone to him, meaning his guard was down. He felt a surge of guilt at this realisation. He quickly tried to call him back, but it went straight to voicemail. Was he being silly? It's entirely possible that Syed had simply tripped over a crack in the pavement, stumbled and dropped his mobile. It wouldn't be unlike him, he couldn't stop himself thinking. Even so, was he really going to sit here and wait to find out? He'd only been five minutes away from the flat; it shouldn't be hard to track him down fairly quickly. He leapt off the sofa, grabbed his jacket and headed out the front door.

...

Syed felt himself being thrown up against the cold, damp wall of the alley. Shaking with fear, he gathered up the courage to open his eyes and found himself looking into the furious eyes of Amira's father, who had him pinned against the rough bricks by the shoulders. Qadim, the man who beat up the love of his life with the help of a few of his cronies and left him to die. He felt the heat of his anger seeping through the fear in his veins.

"Syed, long time no see." Qadim uttered his greeting with venom.

Syed swallowed, and finally found his voice.

"What do you want?"

"What do I want? I'm not sure, Syed. I suppose I want to carry out what I intended to do last year after you humiliated my daughter, then ran away like a coward. I thought cheating on her with a man was bad, but now I hear you intend to marry this man?"

Syed breathed in sharply. How did he find out? He'd been working up the courage to contact Amira for a divorce for a while now; in fact, he'd made a pact to do it later on in the week, now that he'd made the announcement about the engagement. Now he'd made the announcement. Did one of his parents make contact with Qadim? Surely not...

"Can you imagine Amira's reaction when I told her about a call I received from my old friend Dr Khan, informing me of your plans? Were you planning on requesting a divorce at some point? Or does it not matter, now that you are a homosexual?" He sneered.

Yusef. He never did trust him, although it seemed everyone else did, even his mother. Something about him made Syed uneasy, and the discovery that he had connections with Qadim certainly didn't help how he felt towards him.

His breath caught in his throat as he realised that Qadim was here to hurt him, really hurt him. He hurt Christian because he couldn't hurt me last time, he thought. But now he can, and he will. It was as though Qadim had read his mind, as he moved a hand from his shoulder to grab his chin. Syed, too frightened to utter a sound, tried to pull Qadim's hands away, but he held on tighter.

"We all must pay for our wrongdoings at some point, Syed. Don't you think it's your turn?"

Qadim reached into his pocket and pulled out a single leather glove, failing to notice the shadow appearing some distance behind him. But Syed did, and he glanced up to take in the sight of a pair of terrified green eyes, mirroring his own.


	3. Chapter 3

Christian closed the front door behind him and started to half-walk, half-run in the direction of Bridge Street, where he knew Syed would be walking on his way to the flat. The place looked pretty deserted, material from the market stalls fluttering in the gentle breeze. He froze, however, when he caught sight of the black BMW at the top of the street. An instinctive reaction, but it couldn't be, could it...?

Then he heard the unmistakable threatening tones of a voice he'd hoped to never hear again, coming from a hidden alley down the side of the street. He edged closer, and caught sight of one of his worst nightmares – Qadim, holding Syed up against the wall; looking ready to carry out the sort of violence Christian knew first-hand that he was capable of committing. He felt ice-cold fear spread throughout his body as it all came back to him, memories he'd tried to forget.

"Where is Syed?" he asked again, poised to pull on a leather glove in an almost casual manner. His voice was low and threatening, and Christian knew what was coming, and there was nothing he could say to stop it.

"I don't know," he sobbed, feeling the grip of a strong hand hold him in place against the pillar, arms holding his own, so there was no escape. All he could do was stare at the leather glove, which Amira's father was now slowly pulling onto his right hand, flexing his fingers. Christian shut his eyes in anticipation and just prayed that it would be over quickly.

With an intake of breath, Christian was back in the present. From where he was standing, he could see Qadim pulling on a black leather glove; the sight made him physically tremble and caused a cold sweat to break out on his back. He couldn't breathe. He felt immobilised; he knew Syed was in danger, yet he couldn't force himself to move. At that point, however, he saw Syed's eyes flicker upwards, and their eyes met. Christian saw the terror in his eyes; recognised because he knew it only too well. With that, the spell was broken, and Christian exhaled forcefully. Syed will get hurt if I don't step in right now. The thought of it, the thought of Syed getting hurt because of this man...suddenly he saw red. His legs began to work again. Focusing his eyes squarely on the back of Qadim's head, Christian broke into a run. He grabbed Qadim's shoulders, hauled him away from Syed and roughly shoved him against the opposite side of the alley.

"Don't you touch him!" Christian yelled at him, his hands gripping tightly on his shoulders. "Finish me off if you want to, but don't you lay a finger on Syed!" he could hear his voice shaking, but he meant it. He was scared, but if Syed was okay then it didn't matter. Without warning, Qadim raised his hands and grabbed him around the neck, pushing him backwards. Christian felt the cold, damp bricks slam into his back, and the feel of the leather glove around his throat. He couldn't see Syed. He started to gasp for breath. Qadim really is going to finish me off...

"NO!"

Suddenly the pressure on his throat was lifted. He hadn't realised he'd shut his eyes until they flew open in surprise. He saw a similar expression on Qadim's face as he was pulled backwards, away from him, towards the entrance of the alley, back onto the street.

Syed had grabbed him by his coat and had pulled as hard as he could. Realising what was happening, Qadim suddenly whipped around to face Syed and shoved him with considerable force, making him fall to the ground. Christian hadn't even begun to breathe again when he saw Qadim raise his fist, looking down on Syed. Before he could stop it, he felt, rather than heard, the sound of knuckles connecting with beautiful tanned skin, and he couldn't bear it. He cried out in anguish.

"Syed!"

He went to move forward, but something – someone – was holding him back. Only then did he notice the police car sitting right beside the BMW, and now two police officers were pulling Qadim back, up against the car, clinking handcuffs locking his arms behind his back. Christian shrugged off the one who was holding on to him and ran to Syed.

He was still on the ground, propped up on his elbow, his other hand hesitantly touching the spot where he'd been hit, just below his left eye. Christian crouched down beside him, tears in his eyes.

"Sy..." he began, tentatively reaching out to touch his cheek – it wouldn't be long before a bruise formed. "What happened?"

When Syed spoke, his voice was hoarse.

"He came up behind me...shoved me into the alley...Yusef told him about the engagement. He said he'd come back to finish me off..." he couldn't continue, and looked away, suddenly fascinated with the zip on his jacket. Without speaking, Christian gently put one arm around him, placing his hands under Syed's arms and lifting him into a standing position. Once they were both upright, he wordlessly pulled him in for a hug. Syed clung to him, and they stayed like that for a while, long after the police car had driven off with Qadim. They both took comfort from the embrace, eventually pulling apart to start the short journey home, their safe haven.

...

He watched them embrace from where he stood at the window, wanting to look away but not quite managing to. He'd seen Qadim earlier, ringing the bell to their old flat. He wondered what had brought him back to Walford, why he was seeking them out once again...then he remembered. The...engagement. Qadim must have gotten wind of it, and he had a feeling he knew how.

Just minutes earlier, he'd been bending over the sink washing his hands, and happened to glance out the window down Bridge Street, catching a glimpse of Syed on the phone walking up through the market. He observed his body language, relaxed and almost jubilant, probably on his way home. He'd also watched with baited breath as Qadim got out of his car and grabbed Syed from behind, pulling him into an alley. After a moment's hesitation he'd reached for the phone.

"Police, please. There's a man on Bridge Street, Walford, being attacked, or just about to be. It's round the side of the Queen Victoria pub."

He saw them begin to pull apart, and not wanting to be seen, turned away, drawing the curtain, phone still in hand. His tight grip on it loosened, now he knew his son was safe.


	4. Chapter 4

_They were standing in the centre of the livingroom of their old flat, facing each other. The walls were bare, all the furniture gone._

_Christian looked into Syed's chocolate brown eyes, just inches from his own, feeling himself getting lost in them. Syed smiled at him; they were here, together – a perfect moment._

_A thundering crash sounded suddenly, making Christian jump. They turned towards the front door to see four heavily built men barge their way in. Before they could react, two of the men had grabbed onto Christian, holding him tightly by each arm so he couldn't escape. The other two had done the same with Syed. Struggling to free himself, he kept his eyes on Syed, who wasn't putting up any kind of fight, resignation in his eyes. Christian didn't understand – why was he giving up so easily?_

_At that moment he saw Qadim casually walk through the door, ordering the men to take them away. Away? Away where? He continued to struggle, but the men gripping onto him were impossibly strong._

_All of a sudden the scene changed and he found himself being shoved into some sort of prison cell, an old-fashioned one with giant metal bars trapping him in. He witnessed Syed being placed into one directly opposite him. Christian was frightened, he didn't know where they were and if they were even going to get out. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he reached an arm out of the cell. Syed did the same, and their fingers just about touched._

_"I love you," Christian whispered, his voice breaking._

_He could see Syed open his mouth to reply when he heard a door open and the men returned. He watched as they entered Syed's cell – and gasped as they suddenly grabbed Syed, yanking him back and breaking their touch. Christian realised what they were going to do; he gripped two of the metal bars between his hands and pulled and pushed at them frantically in an attempt to get out. He wanted to look way, but he couldn't. He had to watch helplessly as they ganged up around Syed and began an onslaught of violence, raining punches and kicks to his beautiful boy. Christian felt sick; he screamed at them to leave him alone, to beat him up instead, but it was like he wasn't even there. He continued to shake at the bars even though his arms ached; it was nothing compared to the terrible pain in his heart at what he was witnessing._

_Without warning, the attack stopped. Christian could just about make out Syed in the corner of the cell, not moving. Christian couldn't stop the sobs wracking his chest. The men suddenly all turned and looked at him, as if noticing for the first time that he was there. They started to edge towards his cell. Christian couldn't breathe as he backed into the furthest corner, feeling like a small child. He knew what was coming, it was his turn to pay for falling in love, yet again. He shut his eyes and his world went black._

...

Christian woke up in a panic, his chest tight and his heart beating erratically. It was just a dream. He took in his surroundings. He was safe in the bedroom of his new flat. It was just starting to get light; he presumed it was about 4am. He could feel Syed beside him, his arm thrown over his chest and head on his shoulder, still fast asleep. It was just a dream... Seeking reassurance, he slowly moved to prop himself up on his right elbow, careful not to wake Syed, so he could see him properly...and had to hold back a gasp. A deep purple bruise had formed on his left cheek – it hadn't started to show when they went to bed, but now...it looked awful. After the shock of seeing the bruise subsided, Christian stared at Syed's face for a good few minutes. He looked content, peaceful; how he managed to do so after the night's events was beyond Christian. He tried not to focus on the bruise, and instead on the beauty that was the rest of his face. A face he woke up to every morning; that smiled when he saw him, frowned when confused, creased up when he laughed. And now, in the midst of a calm slumber, it looked pretty damn stunning. However, try as he might, Christian couldn't ignore the purple mark, which Syed's left eyelash was almost touching. He lifted his left hand and, as gently as he could, brushed a fingertip over his cheek, tracing the bruise as if to check it was real.

Almost as if sensing his delicate touch and intense gaze, Syed slowly opened his eyes. He saw a look on Christian's face he didn't quite understand.

"Hey," he whispered gently. "What's up?"

Emotion overwhelmed Christian; memories of the roof collapse and the more recent recollection of his nightmare came back to him, and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat as he answered.

"I'm checking...checking you're not hurt..." he tried to explain, tears forming in his eyes.

"Christian...?"

Syed then sat up and turned back around to look properly at his fiancé, still leaning on one elbow, his gaze fixed on the pillow Syed was lying on a moment earlier. He reached for Christian's face and made him look at him.

"Tell me what's wrong."

With a sigh, Christian heaved himself up so he was sitting next to Syed, still not quite managing to look at him.

"I had a dream, a bad dream..."

Christian went on to tell him about his nightmare, pausing at the more difficult bits, still avoiding eye contact, fiddling with the duvet draped over their legs.

"Then they turned around and looked at me..." he stopped then. Syed didn't need to hear anymore.

"Christian, look at me." He put a hand under his chin and once again tried to make Christian look into his eyes. Eventually he did, but he couldn't stop his eyes from glancing at the bruise. Syed saw the concern in Christian's eyes, frowned slightly, then reached up with his other hand to touch the area he'd been hit, wincing at the sudden pain. In a flash, Christian took Syed's hand and pulled it away, keeping it clasped in his as he rested them on the bed.

"Don't touch it, it'll only make it hurt..."

"It's fine," Syed said, trying to lighten the mood. "I've had worse!"

It was clearly the wrong thing to say, as the tears began to fall down Christian's face.

Taking in the state Christian was in, Syed sighed and wrapped his arms around him, drawing him close.

"It could have been worse, Christian, much worse. But it wasn't. Because you came to the rescue." he paused for a bit. "My Superman."

Christian leaned back to look at him, and couldn't suppress a small smile.

"Is that a smile, I see?" Syed teased gently, wiping his tears away with his thumb.

"Now listen to me, Christian. It's over - Qadim's been arrested now. And they'll find out about everything else he's done and he'll be put away for a long time. We're safe. And your dream was just that - a dream. Not real. So there's no need to worry. We're still here, we're together in our lovely flat, planning our wedding. And I'm not going to let anyone hurt either of us."

"But your bruise..."

"It will fade." Syed said with a tone of finality. "Now, are you okay?"

Christian sniffed and looked up. The light from outside was rapidly spilling through the gap in the curtains and he could see it reflecting off Syed's beautiful brown eyes, giving off flashes of gold as he looked at Christian intently, with concern. He ran over what Syed had just said in his head. He's right, he realised. Qadim's been locked up, and although Syed had been hurt, he's still here, with me. We're not going to remember what happened last night on our wedding day. Their wedding day. He smiled again, bigger this time, and Syed smiled back.

"I love you, you know."

Syed laughed, and placed his hands around the back of Christian's neck.

"I do know. And I also know that I love you too." He then proceeded to pull Christian's head down to meet his own, and kissed him until everything else was forgotten.


End file.
